Saugus officer nominated as next Gloucester chief

Friday

Aug 31, 2012 at 12:01 AMAug 31, 2012 at 2:22 PM

Gloucester Mayor Carolyn Kirk is nominating Lt. Leonard Campanello of the Saugus Police Department as the next chief of police for the City of Gloucester. “I will say that Lt. Campanello is the clear choice. His municipal experience in Saugus is very relevant to Gloucester and he is the number two ranking officer in the department right now and has been able to affect what I call transformational change,” she said.

Jane Fosberry Enos/capeann@wickedlocal.com

Gloucester Mayor Carolyn Kirk is nominating Lt. Leonard Campanello as the next chief of police for the City of Gloucester.

Kirk had high praise for Campanello, who is currently the assistant chief of police in Saugus.

“I will say that Lt. Campanello is the clear choice. His municipal experience in Saugus is very relevant to Gloucester and he is the number two ranking officer in the department right now and has been able to affect what I call transformational change,” she said.

Campanello would be the first Gloucester police chief to be appointed from outside the ranks of the Gloucester Police Department.

“He brought together a department that was factionalized and had a high degree of grievances, which is always a sign of management issues. He cleaned up the grievances and brought the department together,” Kirk said.

“Saugus has civil service dispatch, which is something Gloucester is interested in, so he brings that experience,” the mayor added. “His references have been outstanding. He performed well in the assessment center. His interviews were sharp and on target. And he’s a personable guy, very approachable, which is important in a community police chief role.

For his nomination to move forward, Campanello must pass background, physical and psychological tests, and complete contract negotiations. The next step is for the City Council to vote on Campanello’s confirmation, most likely at its next meeting, on Sept. 11.

“I very much appreciate the mayor’s confidence to push me forward at this time, and I look forward to completing the process,” Campanello said.

As a finalist for the police chief spot, Campanello had the chance to drive around Gloucester meeting people and said there is a lot to like about the city.

“It’s a city with a town feel,” Campanello said. “It’s a blue-collar, hardworking community with a multitalented police department.”

Now that he has emerged as the mayor’s choice, Campanello said he is eager to continue the confirmation process with the City Council and to get to know Gloucester better.

If approved by the City Council, Campanello could be taking the reins within a month.

“We would like him to start the last week in September so he could have a week overlap with Chief (Michael) Lane,” said Kirk. “That would be ideal.”

Lane, who has served as acting police chief since spring 2009, is retiring on Sept. 30 after 34 years on the force.

However, if the City Council turns down the nomination, it would put the search for a police chief back at square one.

A similar process was followed earlier this year when Gloucester opened the fire chief’s job to those outside of the Gloucester Fire Department. Eric Smith of Michigan was chosen to fill that post and took command of that department this summer.

The four finalists for the police chief’s job were interviewed publicly on Aug. 19 by the Gloucester Police Chief Search Committee. Those interviewed were Campanello; Lt. Kathleen Auld, a 29-year veteran of the Gloucester Police Department; Deputy Chief Stephen J. Smith of the Anchorage, Alaska, Police Department; and Lt. Kenneth Berg of the MBTA police, formerly of the Largo, Fla. and Marblehead police departments.

Kirk said the search committee presented her with the unranked list of the four candidates, and she chose her nominee from that list.

“Once I completed my interviews, I went back to each member of search committee and asked them what they thought,” she said.

About Campanello

The mayor’s office released the following information about Campanello:

Campanello began his career in Saugus in 1990, rising through the ranks to lieutenant in 2008 and assistant chief in 2009. He received his Master of Science in Criminal Justice from Boston University and his Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice from Northeastern University.

During his tenure as assistant chief, Campanello has been responsible for all internal police matters and has oversight over the day-to-day operations of the department, including all major criminal investigations. The Saugus Police Department has 53 sworn personnel, 12 civilian dispatchers and five support staff. The department handled approximately 21,000 calls for service in 2011.

Campanello implemented the Civilian Police Academy in Saugus, the Neighborhood Watch Program, College Intern Program and the department’s Safe Watch Program. He is a strong proponent of Community Policing and the use of crime data analysis for deployment of resources.

Campanello resides in Ipswich with his family.

“As the community gets to know Lt. Campanello, I think they’ll have a great deal of respect for his work and what he will bring to the city,” Kirk told the Beacon on Tuesday.